Adrian Shephard Chronicles
by JACCO
Summary: The life of Adrian Shephard before the incident at Black Mesa.COMPLETE note: Please read the whole story before you flame on my accuracy. It all makes sense in the end.
1. Arrival and Briefing

Adrian Shephard Chronicles

Chapter 1- Arrival and Briefing

Private Adrian Shephard looked out the helicopter window as it flew over the Nevada desert toward his new job in the Marine Corps. His commander wouldn't tell him what it was when he'd accepted.  
A metal barbed wire fence appeared out of the chopper window and Adrian wondered where they were. The desert stretched again for another minute or so and asphalt took over. The chopper decelerated and came to a stop and hovered above the ground.  
Adrian could see men running around under the chopper and moving various objects out of the way so the Osprey could land. The helicopter descended and landed on the asphalt. The door slid open and an MP beckoned for Shephard to come with him. He got up and jumped out of the chopper as the blades became quieter and finally stopped. Adrian and the MP strolled across the landing platform and stopped at a door where a man was waiting.  
"Hello private Shephard." said the man. He was in a lab coat. Adrian saluted recognizing him as a superior officer.  
"Hello sir." he said.  
"Welcome to the military installation, Area 51."  
"Thank you sir."  
"Please follow sergeant Derms to the briefing room." Adrian saluted and followed the MP through a door that led into the Nevada complex. They walked through a complicated array of hallways and wide corridors. Soldiers and scientists passed them periodically.  
Without a word the MP swiped a card and opened the door. Adrian walked in and found himself facing a dark room.  
"Welcome private Shephard. Please have a seat." said a voice from a conference table. Two other men were sitting on the side of the table and Adrian took a seat between them. "This is lieutenant Daniel Hanz, and corporal Julian Fine." said the shadowy man sitting at the end of the table. About ten minutes passed and the door opened again. Another man walked in. "Welcome Private Lorenz. This is private Adrian Shephard, corporal Julian Fine, and lieutenant Daniel Hanz." said the man. "Please have a seat." Lorenz walked over and sat next to Fine. "Very good. We are all here. May I take this moment to say that I hope you all had a good trip here, even if it was on an Osprey." said the man. "First of all, everything that is said in here is completely off the record. So feel free to say anything anytime." Corporal Fine took this at heart and spoke up.  
"Sir, why are we here and what is this about?" The man chuckled.  
"I will explain that in just a minute."  
"Who are you sir?" asked Private Lorenz. He chuckled again.  
"I am General Faraz Likens." he said, stepping into the light. It lit up his features and the soldiers could see that he was indeed the legendary General Likens.  
"Why are we here?" asked Hanz.  
"Hold on lieutenant Hanz, I will answer questions in a moment. Let me explain things first." said the general. "Recently you signed an agreement for an unspecified job. Well, that job is here, at Area 51. You see, only the very highest members of the government know about what we do here." The general paused, took a sip of water, and brightened the lights. "I am sure you all have heard of the Black Mesa Research Facility located in New Mexico." he again paused to see their answers. All of them nodded yes. "Six years ago the great minds there developed a device that would allow us to travel to other planets."  
"Sir, that is theoretically impossible." said corporal Fine.  
"That is why we chose you corporal, your masters degree in theoretical physics is already serving you well. If you would explain?"  
"Um," he hesitated. "Theoretically it is possible to travel between two points in space and time through a wormhole or warp field, but it supposedly would take more energy to maintain one than there is in the universe.  
"Well, our great minds at Black Mesa made a transporter that actually allowed us to travel to an alien planet. It only allowed us to go to one place, but none the less we work with it. What we found there was a race called the Sa'ni, that closely resemble our past. They are about as advanced as ninth century Islam. That is, around the time and place the story of Aladdin took place." He took another sip of water. "We've been studying them now for about six years. You have been called here to be added to our collection of combat teams we send there. That is your now specified job." He looked around the room. "I'll take questions now."  
Adrian spoke first. "Why would you need combat teams sir?"  
"Good question private Shephard. We do everything we can to not interfere with their culture. We take all precautions for our presence there to remain secret. Once in a while something will happen. In example, a science team will get captured and since it is a somewhat primitive culture, they will want to execute them for witchcraft. It will be your job to rescue them. That's what we use combat teams for."  
"Sir, are the natives of this planet like us?" asked Fine.  
"Yes. They are exactly like us. Is that all?" The soldiers remained quiet as they chewed over the information they had just heard. "Congratulations, privates, corporal, you just made lieutenant, lieutenant, you just made major. Your service here will not be considered active for forty-eight hours. Please take that time to learn your way around the main sections of the base and get to know each other. Dismissed." The general walked out of the room.  
Four MP's entered the room and separated the soldiers. They led them to their rooms. The MP unlocked Adrian's door with the key card and handed it to him.  
"Welcome to Area 51." said the MP before he turned and returned to his post on the landing field. Adrian turned and looked around the room. It was nice, almost a five-star hotel type room.  
A map of the main sections of the base was sitting on the table. The bed was made very neatly and the room even had a small kitchen with a coffee maker and a microwave. The base had a cafeteria, so the kitchen was mainly for snacks and coffee.  
Adrian walked over and sat on the bed. He decided this wasn't going to be so bad, even if he didn't understand it. He wondered what kind of animals he would meet on the other planet. With that thought, he plopped onto the bed and fell asleep.


	2. First Mission

Chapter 2- First Mission

Adrian had gotten to know his team mates over the next few weeks and all of them had come to respect each other. They had learned that Area 51 was divided into seven sections. There was the main section, which included everything that wasn't restricted. The other six sections were devoted to various activities that only the employee's knew about.  
Section tree was the Lucifer Complex, a name Adrian didn't really appreciate, but was where Project Lucifer was located. No one knew who had named it that or why. No one cared.  
Kelly Lorenz had become one of Adrian's closer friends on the team. Lieutenant Hanz turned out to be a good, but strict leader. Julian Fine seemed to always be talking about theoretical physics and things the other soldiers could barely follow. Adrian was smart, but not quite that smart. None the less, the troops had become good friends and were hoping for a good mission to come their way.  
Information circulated around the complex about a science team being captured and executed for using magic. Major Norman's team was sent to get them back but arrived too late to find and save them.

"Good news guys, we just got handed our first mission." said newly made, Major Hanz.  
"Sweet, what is it?" asked Julian through a mouthful of food.  
"It's a recon mission. We're going to go into the city undercover and make sure things have calmed down enough to send science teams back. Simple." he finished.  
"When are we leaving?" asked Lorenz.  
"1200 today. We need to see Colonel Hayes at 1100." Adrian looked at his watch. It was 1030."  
"Let's go now." he said. "It won't hurt to get a couple of extra minutes to prep."  
"I agree. Let's go." said Hanz. The four soldiers left the cafeteria and walked across the main complex to the heavy steel blast door of the Lucifer Complex.  
Hanz swiped his card first, followed by Adrian, Lorenz, and Fine. The door opened into the ground and ceiling. The new team stepped in and the doors closed. The metal platform jolted and started to descend into the bowels of the Area 51 Lucifer Complex.  
The elevator stopped and after a minute, the doors opened to reveal their first sight of the main floor.  
They had been into the Lucifer Complex before, but not so deep. This was "ground zero" as many called it because it was where the main portal room was located and the main control room was above the portal room.   
Lights ran from the floor around the tube-like walls of the corridor, and touched the ground again on the other side. The four soldiers walked down the weirdly lit hall and stopped at a door that had a sign above it labeled "Gear Room".  
Hanz swiped his security ID card and the door opened with a hiss. A man was standing on the other side.  
"Oh, hello Major Hanz. I was just about to go up and find you. Looks like you found you way by yourself." said the man. "Anyway, follow me." Walls with full size lockers made the room seem like a maze. "If you would please locate your lockers."  
Adrian was the first to find his and the Colonel told him to slip his card into the slot. He did, and the locker opened easily. The inside had a shelf and a strange thick black vest. "These were developed about a year ago here at Area 51." said the colonel holding up on of the vests. "They are called PCV's. Powered Combat Vest. They're quite remarkable and will soon be in the regular military. The Marine Hazardous Environment Combat Unit has volunteered to test them out in future missions. Anyway, this vest will always be on you when you pass this room. Understood?"  
"Yes sir." they said in unison.  
"Put them on." The soldiers proceeded to put their vests on."  
"Sir, won't these look out of place, sir?" asked Lorenz.  
"No, you'll be wearing these robes." he said handing bags to them. "It will make you look a little fat, but this vest has saved the lives of combat teams numerous times." The troops zipped up the vests and slipped the robes over. "Here. Since they are powered combat vests, you can charge them. The charge will be able to maintain flashlights and has a cooling and heating system that will keep you at a comfortable in bad climates." he said.  
The team looked like they were ready to hike across the desert. They were wearing their tan robes over the PCV's and Hanz was in the process of wrapping a turban around his head.  
"We don't look fat." remarked Lorenz.  
"If you'll follow me into the next room we'll get you equipped and armed." They walked into the armory room. Shelves with guns and ammunition lined the walls. There were P90's, MP5's, and MP5k's along with all other kinds of guns. "Choose what you will." said the colonel. Adrian picked up a P90 and pulled the hammer back. He walked over, picked up the right magazine, and slipped it into the gun. Lorenz and Fine chose MP5's and Hanz chose and MP5k. They were all given a Desert Eagle and combat knife. They followed the colonel into the next room which was an obstacle course.  
"First, I want you to get used to moving around in the PCV's. Complete this obstacle course and you'll complete your PCV training. Hurry up though. Your due to leave in thirty. The team clicked the safety's on their guns on and ran through the obstacle course.

The large steel blast doors opened to reveal a huge room with a rather big platform in the center that was raised about three feet. Four ramps slid out of it a connected with notches in the floor.  
A big pyramid shaped machine hung from the ceiling with it's point directly above the platform. Long poles extended from the ceiling of near the four corners of the upside-down pyramid.  
Four small bell shaped bell shaped domes were attached to each pole.  
Large florescent lights gave the room a bluish glow. At the far end of the room was a big glass window that contained the control room.  
Lucifer Team twelve marched into the room. Adrian made sure he had his P90 well hidden underneath his robes.  
"Initializing sub-space jumper. Jumper initializing in, five. Four. Three. Two. One. Initializing now." The pyramid started to hum and the domes began to rotate on the poles. The center of the platform descended to the floor. A thin purple beam of light appeared and crackled. "Portal initializing in, five." Small lightning bolts began to pop around the domes. "Four." The domes lit up in a purple glow. "Three." The small bots got more powerful and connected with the tip of the pyramid. "Two." The purple beam got thicker and started spouting small random bolts. "One." The beam flashed and an uneven sphere of purple light formed. Dozens of small bolts snapped around it. "Portal stabilized." said the tech in the control room.  
"Move in now." said another voice. Adrian, Lorenz, Hanz, and Fine ran at the sphere of light. Hanz went first, followed by Fine and Lorenz. They all disappeared as soon as the light touched them. Adrian ran into the portal. He heard a loud crackling and everything turned bright green. Adrian looked around and couldn't see his body. Everything turned black and silent. He couldn't move, or feel. After a few seconds the green light came back and the world materialized around him.  
They were in a wooded area. Birds were chirping and the pine trees branches were high enough not to be of any nescience. Adrian walked toward the other members of his team.  
"Let's go. The city is just a mile that way." said Hanz. He pointed north. "Our orders are to kill anyone who gets in our way."  
"Even if they aren't a threat?" asked Adrian. Hanz shrugged.  
"Those are our orders. It's to preserve secrecy."   
"Okay."  
They started walking the distance to the city. It took them about an twenty minutes before they got to the outskirts of the city. No one bothered them, the citizens simply thought they were travelers.  
Adrian was amazed at the similarity between them and ancient Islamic culture. The soldiers patrolled the city and memorized the layout of it in three hours.  
The sun was just beginning to set when they got back to portal sight. Adrian looked at his watch. They still had five minutes left before the portal was set to open again to bring them back.  
"What do they do when there is nobody to open the portal?" asked Fine.  
"There is an emergency button on the receiver here that sends a signal for them to open it." replied Hanz.  
"How come you know more than us about this stuff?" asked Lorenz.  
"They briefed me privately."  
"Why you?"  
"Why do you think? I'm the commander." replied Hanz.  
The small receiver hummed and sent a thin beam up into the air about five feet. It shortened and turned into the portal. The soldiers walked into it and found themselves back in the control room.  
"Welcome back. Briefing will be in twenty minutes." said a voice over the intercom. Adrian walked back across the room and ended up in the locker room again with his team. They removed their robes and PCV's. Adrian noticed that the locker had a special hook for the PCV's and robes.  
Adrian unloaded his P90 and put it on the top shelf with the spare magazines.  
"C'mon guys, lets go brief the general and colonel." said Hanz.

"Everything's fine. No one bothered us, the city was quiet except for thieves. They cut they're hands off." said Hanz in an almost innocent way.  
"Okay, that's all I need to know. Do you believe it's safe to send science teams back?"   
"Certainly."  
"And what about you Lieutenant Shephard? Do you agree?"  
"Yes sir."  
"Good. Then It's settled. Teams will start going back at 0500 tomorrow. You are dismissed." The troops got up and walked out of the room.  
"Well, that was fun. What are we going to do tomorrow?" asked Fine. Adrian smiled and looked foreword to their next mission not knowing it would be their last.


	3. AWOL Agents

Chapter 3- AWOL Agents

Dr. Glenshaw walked down the hallway toward Colonel Jenkens' office. He went into the small lobby and greeted the secretary and knocked on the door.  
"Come in." said the colonel from inside. Dr. Glenshaw opened the door and walked in.  
"Sir, I just got off the phone with Dr. Leyla from Black Mesa." said Dr. Glenshaw to Colonel Jenkens.  
"Really, what did he say?"  
"They discovered that there are problems with the rematerialization process during the teleportation process."  
"Are they dangerous?"  
"No, not immediatly. After about fifty or so rematerializations it can get dangerous."  
"What happens?"  
"There is a chance they can go crazy."  
"That's all?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay. Let me know if anything more develops."  
"Yes sir." Glenshaw turned and left. Jenkens sat for a minute thinking about what to do. Team four was about to leave, he realized.  
Jenkens got up and started walking to the control room.

Alarms blared through out the complex. Adrian and his team wondered what was going on.  
"Teams nine, twelve, and fourteen, please report to the portal room. Repeat, combat teams, nine, twelve, and fourteen, please report to the portal room." Adrian looked up as he heard the message over the loud speaker.  
"Let's go!" yelled Hanz. The team bolted up and ran across the complex to the elevator. Team twelve arrived at the elevator first and nine followed soon after.  
"Come on Richers." mumbled one of the nine members. The four of them arrived a moment later and joined the other's in the elevator. Adrian hit the button and the doors closed.  
Given the urgency of the message the elevator seemed to be moving very slowly. It finally stopped and the doors opened. All of the soldiers rushed out and ran down the hall toward the Gear Room.  
They quickly got their vests and robes on and guns ready.  
"Move quickly!" Adrian's team was the first to leave the locker room and get back into the main hall. They ran down it and entered the main portal room.  
"Major Hanz, your orders are to find team four and eliminate them. They have gone AWOL and are hunting down the science teams. Take them out." The pyramid hummed and went through the process of activating the portal again. The other two teams walked in just as the portal activated. "Twelve, you are clear to go."  
"Come on people. Let's get them." They ran across the room and entered the portal. The last thing Adrian heard was Colonel Jenkens giving them their orders.  
The planet materialized around him and he saw that he was in the same place he had been three days before.  
The sky was black and the night was quiet. The solders quickly drew their weapons and turned their flashlights on. The powerful beams lit up the ground and revealed a numerous amount of bodies lying on the ground.  
The small reciever hummed and the other two teams appeared a moment later.  
"Major Hanz, Colonel Jenkens put you in charge sir." Hanz looked suprised for a moment.  
"Okay, your nine right?"  
"Yes sir."  
"I want you to keep an eye on the reciever here. Make sure they don't take it out and strand us here."  
"Yes sir."  
"Fourteen, you secure whats left with the science teams and bring them back here. My team will track four and kill them. Understood?" The men soluted.  
"Sir, these are of the science teams sir." said one of the nine men turning over a body.  
"Let's go. Shephard, your with me, Lorenz, Fine, stick together. This is going to be a long night said Hanz as they jogged out of the trees and into the grassy field.

Adrian and Hanz moved into the city and buried their guns in their robes. People seemed frightened. A man ran down the street at them.  
"Sha! Konleafgrs ad tyeid!" he yelled at them as they passed him. Adrian clicked the small radio in his ear and played what the man had said. One of the nine men knew the language.  
"What did he say?" asked Adrian.  
"Hold on," there was a pause. "He said to run, magic men are attacking."  
"Thats our cue." said Hanz. They kept walking down the street looking for team four. Gunfire erupted and a law enforcement man fell to the ground riddled with bullets from what looked like a Squad Assault Weapon.  
"Get down!" yelled Hanz and pushed Adrian. He tripped and fell just as Hanz exchanged fire with some unseen enemy.  
Hanz dove behind a wooden wagon followed by a stream of bullets from the SAW. Adrian bared his P90 and fired trying to get attention on himself so Hanz could take him out. It worked and Adrian rolled behind the wall of a stone building. Hanz got up and fired some rounds off and the shooting stopped. Adrian got to his feet and looked around the corner. Blood oozed from the police officers body and his sword lay a few feet from him.  
"Shephard!" hissed Hanz. Adrian looked at him. He put two fingers to his eyes and then pointed them down the street. Adrian brought his P90 up and aimed it down the street. Hanz leveled his gun and slowly moved up the street sweeping it back and forth. The flashlight beam sweaped across numerous bodies including that of a fellow soldier from combat team six. "Clear." he said. "He got away." Adrian walked out from his cover and joined Hanz.  
"Where the hell did they get SAW's?" he asked.  
"The combat teams had a small armory built near the farm in case something happened. I guess they found it."  
"We are going to get slaughtered if they have SAW's and we don't." said Adrian.  
"No Adrian, those are only to be used in emergencies."  
"This is an emergency! Those guns could rip through our vests like they aren't even there. Our guns could probably only weaken them. We need machine guns." he said forcefully. Hanz looked at him, then at his gun, and back at Adrian.  
"Alright. There is the possibility that they took them all."  
"Then we go back and get more."  
"Let's go." Adrian turned and ran back to the farm with Hanz close behind.

The sun was just breaking the horizon when the two soldiers arrived at the farm house. Hanz had let everyone know what was happening and to watch out.  
Adrian kicked the door in and he and Hanz moved into the house. The first thing they saw was the bodies of the family. Hanz quickly found the trap door and opened it. They dropped down and turned on their flashlights. Magazines and bullets were scattered all over the floor and the usually neatly arranged weapons were turned in all different directions.  
"Look around. Hopefully they left a SAW."  
"Here. Damn, it's not loaded." Hanz picked up the heavy machine gun and handed it to Adrian. He took it and put down his P90 and kept looking around for ammo boxes. Hanz opened a green metal box and smiled.  
"They missed some." Adrian turned around and walked to Hanz. He reached in and picked up one of the boxes. He pulled the first of the bullets out and inserted it into the chamber. He pulled the hammer back and clipped the box to the hook on the side of the gun. Hanz picked up the other two boxes and put them in the pocket of his robes.  
"Let's go."  
"You've had training with that thing?"  
"Are you kidding? I was second to be the heavy weapons expert during boot." said Adrian as he climbed out of the hole and helped Hanz out also.  
"Sir! Dels is attacking the palace. I think they're going for the sultan!" yelled Fine over the radio. "Get down Lorenz!" Gunfire erupted over the channel. "Take cover!" yelled Lorenz into their ears through the radio.  
"Julian!" More gunfire thudded. "Man down! Man down!" There were two more shots and they could hear Lorenz yell in pain. Hanz turned and clicked his radio.  
"Lorenz! Come in!" He didn't answer. "Repeat, Come in Kel." The radio stayed silent except for people yelling and gunfire.  
"The palace guards don't stand a chance." said Adrian. "Hold this." He handed the SAW to Hanz and jumped back down to retrieve his P90.  
"Walder, take your men and meet Shephard and I at the palace." said Hanz into the radio.  
"Roger."  
"Come on Adrian." He pulled himself up.  
"We've got to go now." he said. They sprinted out of the house and Hanz handed the SAW back to Adrian. They just hoped they wouldn't be too late to save Lorenz.


	4. Entering the Palace

Chapter 4- Entering the Palace

Walder and his team, which was nine, arrived a moment later.  
"Sir, they have SAW's. Team fourteen got slaughtered. Junes was the only one they left alive. We sent him back." said Walder.  
"Dam nit." said Hanz gruffly. "Yeah, we found that out the hard way. Luckily, Shep found one in the armory so we can at least can do some damage." Adrian lifted the barrel up a little to show them.  
"What are they doing in there?" asked Frankfurt.  
"They're trying to get the king." said Adrian. "They took out Fine and Lorenz."  
"Yeah, we heard."  
"Walder, you were on an anti-terror squad right?" asked Hanz. Walder nodded.  
"I want you to take your team and move around and go through the lake entrance. Standard entrance tactics."  
"Yes sir."  
"Don't kill anyone if you don't have to. If you engage Dels and his team, shoot to kill. We don't take any chances."  
"Yes sir." He turned to his team and led them around the wall toward the lake entrance on the other side of the palace.  
"Breckinridge, wait." he stopped. "I'm going to need you to come with us to translate. He walked back and joined Adrian and Hanz.  
"Ready?" asked Hanz to Shephard. He nodded and buried the SAW in his robes. They walked across the court yard just as the sun became brighter and turned into day.  
Hanz approached the guards holding Adrian in a powerful way to give the illusion that he was a slave.  
"Ka'lamon ty jupds?" asked one of the guards. His earpiece was quick to translate. "Where are you taking this traveler?"  
"Tpy dren freet." said Breckinridge. "Duer wenf dewas." "He is a slave. We are taking him to see the prince."  
"Fre tup gew?" "Do you have a pass?"  
"Me. Timo poi newu." "No, we were invited."  
The guard looked at them and seemed to be deciding something. He and the other guard opened the door. The tree soldiers walked in.  
"Her desa." said Breckinridge. "Thank you."  
The guard nodded. They entered the main hall which was full of soldiers holding spears and swords guarding entrances to different halls and doors. Hanz led Adrian and Breckinridge across the main hall and through a door that led to the main greeting room.  
"Which way do we need to go?" asked Breckinridge. Hanz took out his PDA and pulled up the map of the palace.  
"Through here." Hanz tried to open a door. "It's locked."  
"Move." said Adrian. Hanz moved to the side and with one swift kick, Adrian kicked the door in. They hurried through it and closed it so they would not attract attention. They walked down a narrow corridor and emerged in the palace kitchen.  
"Okay, we're right below the kings chamber. There should be a staircase that will lead to right outside the main door."  
"Sir, we're ready to enter on your command." said Walder over the radio.  
"Rodger. Wait there. We may need backup in a moment."  
"Rodger."  
"Hey you! Your not supposed to be back here!" said a guard from behind them. The translator was working faster now. Breckinridge turned around and fired one silenced Desert Eagle round into his head. He landed with a sickening thud.  
"Oh! Guards!" yelled a cook. Breckinridge turned and fired at him. The other cooks ducked and ran.  
Hanz turned and grabbed Breckinridge. "Is that your answer to everything? Killing it?"  
"Sorry sir." Two guards came into the hall and Hanz mowed them down with his MP5. The bullets tore through them spattering blood all over the wall. Adrian whipped out the SAW and got ready for trouble.  
Bells started ringing throughout the palace. Breckinridge holstered his pistol and got out his MP5. They moved out and into the kitchen.  
"Don't kill them unless they are a threat. Civies are off limits." A guard smashed in and charged at them with his sword in the air. The room echoed from the overly loud SAW. The guard flew off his feet and thumped onto the ground. They went through the door and found them selves in a large room with about ten guards and at least five archers. They dove behind a pillar just as the archers opened fire. The guards scattered also, covered by the archers.  
Adrian looked up and saw men dressed in black, their faces covered by scarves, running across the edge of the platform above.  
"Assassins!" he yelled to let the other's know. They looked around.  
"Where?" asked Breckinridge. Hanz was behind him and opened fire at one of the guards that was running across the room. He dropped and Hanz ducked back behind just before and arrow bounced off the pillar.  
Adrian brought the SAW around and fired upward trying to at least scare them off. It didn't work. One of them threw a small bade at him which stuck into his vest. Adrian fired again knew he had hit him because he left blood on the wall when he moved. Breckinridge turned and tossed a grenade onto the ledge. It detonated and sent bloody shrapnel raining down on them. The assassins body fell and landed on the floor.  
"One more!" yelled Breckinridge over gunfire from Hanz. Adrian spotted the assassin jump down from the ledge and land next to Hanz. He turned and blew half his head away with the powerful fifty caliber bullets.  
Loud gunfire filled the room but it wasn't coming from Adrian. The guards started running around and trying to escape. Breckinridge ducked around the pillar to see what was going on. fifty caliber bullets ripped into him tearing through his vest and into his flesh. He dropped to the ground with out a sound.  
"No!" yelled Hanz. He turned and fired. Adrian turned also and saw a burly Chinese man holding a SAW. He stepped back as the MP5 bullets slammed into his vest. Adrian opened fire and the man ducked down and disappeared behind a pillar.  
"Let's go. We can't get through here!" yelled Hanz. A grenade appeared from behind the pillar and landed near Adrian. He kicked it away and took cover behind the pillar from the shrapnel. Hanz went back through the door and Adrian followed him keeping his SAW trained on the pillar that the man was behind.  
Hanz closed the door after Adrian was clear of it and shoved Breckinridge's MP5 into the handle. He ran to the small staircase and Adrian followed. When they got to the top Adrian went first with the heavy gun at eye level.  
"Clear." Hanz came out into the sunny hall way. Bodies of guards were lying on the floor covered in blood. "Where are we?" asked Adrian. Hanz reached into his pocket and pulled out the PDA. He tapped it with the small pointer.  
"The kings chamber is just next door. We have to follow the hall around though." Adrian immediately started moving up the hall, stepping over bodies and trying not to slip on shell casings and blood.  
They heard footsteps coming down the hallway quickly. Hanz and Adrian crouched down next to the window. The king appeared a moment later surrounded by at least twenty guards.  
"Frtye!" said one of them as they spotted the two soldiers. The guards readied their swords and started moving slowly toward them. Adrian could tell they were being cautious because if they wanted the king dead, he would be by now, and the guards knew that.  
"Don't come any closer!" said Hanz trying to sound threatening.  
"Speak- English, yes?" said the king. Hanz and Adrian froze.  
"You speak English?" asked Hanz. The guards drew closer.  
"Cvds." said the king. The guards stopped. "Why do you not kill I?"  
"We are saving you." said Hanz slowly so the king could understand. He blinked.  
"Save?" Hanz nodded.  
"Yes. Uh, fre." he said trying to say yes in their language.  
"The magic men, coming." he said.  
"Yes, we are here to stop them."  
"Gher toyu yeres." said the king to his body guards. "You save me and men?"  
"Fre." Adrian slowly approached the king.  
"We are going to keep you from the magic men." he said. Hanz smashed the window out. He pulled the rope for the pocket on his vest. He tossed it out and tied it to the window frame. The rope went tight and his stomach dropped. He pocked his head out and saw a soldier hold it from the bottom.  
"Come on!" yelled a familiar voice. They helped the king climb down the rope. and waited for the guards to climb down as well. Adrian and Hanz used their expertise to simply zip down.  
"Team nine, we have the king secured. Meet us at the west hall at ground level."  
"Yes sir." They had helped the king escape with his life. Adrian planned to find out why the king knew English also.


	5. More Trouble Ahead

Chapter 5- More Trouble Ahead

Colonel Jenkens rushed into the Lucifer Complex control room. "Get team five down here now." he ordered.  
"Yes sir." said the tech. He turned in his chair and clicked the intercom. "Lucifer Team Three, please report to the portal room. Repeat, Lucifer Team Three, report to the portal room." his voice echoed throughout the base. They waited for a minute and saw the team walk into the portal room.  
Jenkens turned and walked down the narrow staircase and opened the door into the portal room. "Grant, your orders are simple. Go through and retrieve teams fourteen and nine. Tell them I want them back here." he said to Major Grant, the commander of team five. "Clear?"  
"Yes sir." said Grant confidently.  
"Janis, start the sequence." said Jenkens turning around and facing the control room. He walked back up the stairs and entered the control room. The portal stabilized and the tech yelled for them to go. They sprinted up the platform and disappeared into the light. "Max, can you give me a report on how Junes is doing?"  
"Yes sir." he got up and brushed past Jenkens and made his way to sick bay.  
Jenkens sat in Max's chair and massaged his temples. Those fools at Black Mesa had done something. Jenkens didn't know what, he wasn't cleared to know.  
Breen had called him and told him to pull his people out. He closed his eyes and thought about what they could have done. With them, it could literally be anything.  
He decided he didn't care as long as he didn't lose any people to their screw up. If anyone died because of them, he would make sure the president would shut them down. He hoped if that happened that Breen and Rosenberg would go to jail, or at least damage their reputations so they would never get a job again.

Adrian, Hanz and team nine, escorted the king and his troops through the city and across the farm. They hid him in the house so Dels wouldn't find them as easily and left them there to return to the city to hunt down Dels and his team.  
Everything was going bad. Dels had probably reached and killed the decoy by now and were making their escape from the palace.  
Adrian hoped they could complete their mission before they realized that they hadn't actually killed the king, and without losing anymore people. Breckonrige was a good soldier and they didn't even have time to get his tags.  
A loud crack interrupted their thoughts and Hanz stumbled back from the force of a bullet hitting his vest. Adrian turned to fire but the SAW locked up and he took a bullet also. He fell back and hit the ground along with Hanz.  
He tried to get up but the enemy emerged from his hiding place and slammed his boot onto Adrian's chest.  
Hanz recognized him as one of Dels' men.  
"Patterson, why are you doing this?" He looked over at Hanz and drew his Desert Eagle.  
"Danny, why do you think? The king needed to die to save these people." he said. "He was corrupt, evil."  
"Why?"  
"You wouldn't understand." he pointed the pistol at Hanz. "If you weren't so foolish, maybe you could understand." His finger found the tripper and a crack filled the air. Patterson lost his balance and stumbled back. A second bullet opened up a hole in his head. Blood and brain matter left the back of it head wide open. Patterson's body thumped to the ground and twitched.  
Adrian looked over to see if Hanz was still alive. He looked just as confused about what had just happened. Adrian got up and retrieved the SAW. He looked around and saw who had just saved their lives.  
"You need to be more careful." said Kelly Lorenz. Adrian smiled upon seeing that his friend was still alive.  
Lorenz's robes were off and his leg wrapped with them. They were stained with blood. The thick black PCV was exposed.  
"Lorenz!" said Hanz getting up. "Where's Fine?" Lorenz shook his head.  
"He didn't make it. I tried, but he lost too much blood." he said sadly. Hanz lowered his head.  
"At least you made it."  
"We better go. Dels might find us if we stay here in the open."  
"Yeah," said Adrian. "We, better go." He turned at started into the field until he disappeared into the six foot grass. Hanz and Lorenz looked at each other and followed Shephard into the field.  
The three walked for a while thinking about the loss of their comrade. Hanz knew Adrian well enough to know that he was pretty broken up over Fine's death. They also knew that Adrian was thankful that Lorenz was still alive. He just didn't show emotion when there was no need, such as now when people were dying left and right. It was just Adrian.  
"Adrian, where are you leading us?" asked Hanz, almost afraid to piss him off. Even though he was the commander he didn't want to take the chance that Adrian would abandon them to get revenge on Dels.  
"We're going back to the receiver so we can get better equipped." said Adrian. Hanz almost recoiled at the friendliness of his voice. "We're taking the long way around so we don't get shot."  
"Good plan." Adrian stopped suddenly causing Lorenz and Hanz to run into him. He knelt down, set the SAW down on the soft ground, and pulled his P90 out of his robes. He leveled it and sat quietly aiming ahead of him. Hanz and Lorenz did the same not knowing what Shephard had seen.  
A soft crunching soon reached their ears.  
"Stop, or you'll die." said Adrian just loud enough for the person to heard him but not know where it had come from.  
Person stopped walking and stood still.  
"Shep, don't shoot." Adrian looked at Lorenz who shrugged. He stood up his gun still aimed at the man.  
"Grant!" he said immediately lowering his gun and bending down to get the SAW. Hanz stood up followed by Lorenz.  
"Thank god. Your still alive." he said.  
"Why the hell are you here?" asked Hanz.  
"Jenkens told us to come find you. He said he wants you back ASAP. We tried to radio, but I guess it's not working." Lorenz pulled the small plastic device out of his ear and looked at it.  
"That's weird, it was working earlier."  
"None the less, we need to leave now."  
"We haven't completed our mission yet."  
"Come on, let's just follow orders." Grant turned and started walking across the field. Hanz watched him go and frowned.  
"Guess we better follow orders. I just wish we could have taken Dels out." Adrian followed him and Lorenz followed.  
"No sense in crying about what we can't control." said Adrian. They finally emerged from the grass and walked cautiously into the clearing.  
Grant had his men make sure the area was clear and they walked across it and into the trees and finally to the receiver.  
Hanz bent down and brushed it off. He tapped a couple of small buttons on the receiver. They waited a minute and a small beam of light shot out of it. The portal formed and Hanz motioned for Grant to go through. He and Mack, walked into it. The portal flashed and the receiver hummed and died taking to portal with it.  
"What the hell," muttered Hanz. The receiver began to hum again and a blast of light left it throwing Benny, one of Grant's men, Adrian, and Hanz onto the ground.  
"Damn." said Hanz getting to his feet. "It must have blown the generator. It'll take them about an hour to replace it."  
A bullet tore through the second man Grant and left behind sending him sprawling to the ground. The other soldiers dropped and turned. A soldier sprinted from the tree he was behind and disappeared into the trees.  
"We can't stay here." said Lorenz after a moment. He slowly got up keeping his MP5 trained in the direction.  
"Goddamn it, he's dead." said Adrian angrily. Adrian got up and walked briskly walked across the small clearing. "I'm going to kill them."  
"Shephard, wait." said Lorenz going after him.  
"They've killed to many people." Hanz looked at Benny and also got up. Benny watched him and exhaled.  
"Why not." he said to himself.

"What!" yelled Colonel Jenkens.  
"I think the generator just blew out." said a mechanic over the radio in the control room.  
"Get it fixed." said Jenkens, drawing every word out so there would be no mistake. "Fast."   
"Yes sir." The radio clicked off.  
"Sir, Dr. Breen wants to know if you have all of the teams back, sir. He says his people say things are about to go extremely bad. They are doing all they can to give you more time but they are losing control." said John looking at his screen.  
"Tell him to get out. No more of his people need to die today." John looked up at the window.  
"Yes sir." he said sadly. "We can't get the generator fixed in time. We are about to lose some good men today. Tell him to also call back when things have settled down so we can go through and collect their bodies."  
"Yes sir."  
"Did we lose them?" he asked Janis.  
"Yes sir. They were caught right in the middle."

Several hours passed as they tried to calm Adrian down. Team nine had returned and saw them chasing Adrian out of the clearing and helped subdue him. They had been following a lead from a civilian, which trued out to be false. Hanz scolded them and now all of them were sitting in the middle of a field with six foot grass.  
Hanz gave Adrian a piece of chocolate, which he ate and took a painkiller for his headache.  
"So, we're stranded here?" asked Benny.  
"Only for an hour." replied Lorenz.  
"I don't like it. There is no where for us to go if something goes bad."  
"Like what?"  
"I don't know, Dels could find us. Grant and Mack were lucky to get through."  
"We can sit here and they would have to partially step on us to figure out we're here.  
Something moved in the grass to their right and Benny turned and raised his gun.  
"What was that?" asked Lorenz. He got up, walked to the spot, and moved the grass with his gun.   
Two shots echoed out of reflex as something lunged at him and attached to his face. He dropped the gun and struggled to get it off. Hanz ran to him and tried to help him.  
The small animal was tan colored and looked like an oversized rat with teeth. Adrian drew his knife and stabbed it into the creature.  
"Hold still damn it." he said. Benny tried to stop moving and Adrian cut the creature off his face. He fell to the ground. Walder hurried to him and checked his pulse.  
"He's dead sir." Adrian re-sheathed the knife.  
A sphere of yellow light formed in the air just above one of Walder's men. He looked up and a green monster materialized and fell to the ground just in front of him. It caught him by surprise and didn't give him time to react. It stretched it's arms and clamped them together. He flew back from a green lightning bolt and landed dead on the ground about five feet away. The creature turned toward them and extended it's arms again. Adrian and Lorenz opened fire at the same time. The entire upper half of it flew apart in a slimy mess of tan slime.  
What the hell was that!" yelled Hanz. More spheres of light started popping up in numerous places and the weird creatures began materializing from them.  
"Run!" yelled Adrian. The soldiers took off through the field followed by dozens of bolts of electricity. The last of Walder's men was hit and fell, his vest smoldering and flesh burning.


	6. Clean up Crew

Chapter 6- Clean-up Crew

_Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews. This is just in response to the concerns in some of the reviews I have received. I am aware that Shephard was a corporal at Black Mesa and that there are some, what seem like inaccuracies, but all of that will be cleared up later in the story. So, I hope you are enjoying it thus far (even though it is kind of short). Adam_

The monsters were teleporting all over the city and causing panic and chaos to break out. Citizens were running through the streets and the royal soldiers were doing their best to fight the monsters off.  
None of the soldiers knew what the hell was going on. They ran through the field away from the aliens, each of the unwrapping their robes and letting them fall to the ground so they could run better. Lorenz was having trouble keeping up because his leg was injured.  
Adrian fell behind and helped him along. They finally stopped running to catch their breath after about a mile.  
"What are we going to do, we can't go back. Not until they get the transporter fixed." said Walder.  
"Shut up. We'll be fine. Let's just go back and wait by the receiver." said Hanz.  
"No, those things will be there." replied Walder.  
"You know what Damien, your a f-"  
"Both of you shut your mouths. Your losing it. Hanz, you are the commander, keep your cool. Walder, stop talking. Your irritating everyone." said Adrian.  
"Hey, your out of place Shephard. I am your commanding officer."  
"And I am yours." said Hanz. "Shephard is right, we need to keep cool." They paused and waited for someone to speak.  
"So what are we going to do?" asked Lorenz after a while.  
"The royal soldiers seem like they could use our help." remarked Hanz.  
"That's suicide." said Walder.  
"Damnit Walder, we are American soldiers. We help anyone that needs it. You got that?" Gunfire interrupted their argument and a soldier stepped out of the brush. He was dressed in all black and his face was covered by a black fabric mask with small red goggles where his eyes were.  
He stopped and spotted the Marines. They stared at each other for a minute and the black soldier raised his gun. Adrian saw the motion and raised his. They fired at the same time and Walder caught a bullet in his shoulder. It ripped all the way through. The SAW rounds ripped the soldier apart and blood spattered all over the plants behind him. The black soldier's bullet riddled body thumped to the ground and stopped moving.  
Three more came through and opened fire. Everyone dove to the ground and fired back. A brief exchange of fire ended with the black soldiers laying on the ground riddled with bullets. Walder fell to his knees, and then sideways onto his arm. His head dropped down and a stream of blood worked its way across his cheek. One of their bullets had ripped clear through his vest.  
"Special Ops." said Hanz. Adrian wasn't so sure and got to his feet. He walked over to one of their bodies and yanked the mask off. The soldiers eyes were wide open and his face was white as if he hadn't taken the mask off in years. Adrian pulled the small goggles off the mask and looked through them. The world turned red and a small crosshair was in the middle. He dropped them and walked over to another body. He pulled the mask off and stumbled back at the surprise of what he saw. It was the exact same person he'd just seen.  
"What," sad Hanz seeing Adrian's surprise. Hanz pulled the mask off and it was the same as the other two. "Clones."  
"They can't be. Who could have made them?" asked Lorenz closing Walder's eyes. "We don't have that kind of technology."  
"Well apparently we do." said Hanz.  
"We're the last three here."  
"I have an idea." said Hanz.

Major Dillon Dels led the three surviving members of his team through the city and toward the palace. He didn't know what these creatures were but he knew they were deadly, especially the behemoths with flame throwers on their arms. He had watched a squad of spec. ops. get massacred by it.  
Dels also didn't know what the spec. ops. were doing here. They seemed to want to kill everybody, not just the aliens.  
"Sir, where are we going?" asked Jaques.  
"The palace. There is a way out." he replied. Three green aliens popped out of the alley beside them. Typet opened fire with his SAW and turned the two aliens into bloody mush. The ground shook and ten black ops. troops came into view running from the huge armored alien. It activated it's flamethrower and fried three of them. A fourth one caught fire and dropped to the ground trying to put it out. The alien stepped on him with out ever knowing someone was there. Dels turned down an alley and led his team out of the aliens sight knowing that the black ops. would meet their end very soon.

Adrian kept his gun level, ready to blow anything that moved straight to hell. The city was alive with gunfire from the clones and it sounded like the aliens were winning anyway. A column of royal guards jogged down the street toward the fighting. They were armed with bows and arrows.  
A squad of clones ran into the street in front of the soldiers and the first one was mowed down by arrows. The other three tried to turn but were also taken down.  
"Shitr, ioejrnf ghtysd. Ftye der fresa tyei." Commander, magic men are fighting with the demons. They still want to find the king.  
The sun was still bright and high in the sky although smoke from burning buildings was obscuring the sun. Adrian heard a sound in the shadows to the right. He turned and took out his flashlight. He looked at Lorenz who nodded and Adrian switched on his light. The beam revealed a man cowering in the corner. It was the king.  
"King, didn't we leave you in the farm house?" he asked lowering his gun. Lorenz burst out laughing.  
"Demons attacked we. I ran with guard to here and magic men attacked." he said. Lorenz fell to the ground still laughing. "Why laughing are you?" Lorenz stopped himself and caught his breath.  
"Tell the truth John." he said through short gasps of breath. He started laughing again. "King." he couldn't stop laughing. "Who would've thought,"  
"John?" asked Adrian confused.  
"No not what he speaks of do I."  
"Yes you do." said Lorenz trying to keep himself from laughing again. Adrian looked at him and bent down. He grabbed the king and shoved his pistol under his chin.  
"What the hell is he talking about?" he asked. The king looked at him funny. "Talk, or I'll blow your head off." The king looked at Lorenz as he got up and brushed himself off still red in the face from lack of air.  
"Let me go and I'll explain." Adrian released him and re-holstered his pistol. "My real name is John Melanos. I am the head doctor for the Lucifer Project here on the planet."  
"There you go." said Lorenz. Adrian turned to him.  
"How do you know this and we didn't?"  
"I got him drunk and he sort of slipped."  
"I can help you get back to Earth if you let me come with you." The soldiers stood for a minute and debated weather to include a straggler. Hanz finally decided it was worth it and nodded his head in agreement. "Good, we need to get to the palace."  
"The palace?"  
"Yes, there is a transport room under it."


	7. Clones and Aliens

Chapter 7- Clones and Aliens

A large dropship descended out of the sky and came to a hover just above the ground. Three clones jogged across the clearing to meet it. A tall man in a dark blue suit stepped out of it.  
"Hello commander." he said in his sly voice.  
"Sir, my men are having a hard time finding Hanz and Dels." said the clone.  
"They are probably trying to get to the complex under the palace and escape. Do not let them do that commander. No witnesses."  
"Yes sir." he said and turned to the other two. "Move your troops into the palace."  
"Sir!" said one of them. He turned and ran back through the brush. The commander turned back to the man in the suit. "Would you like me to take my men and join him?"  
"I would, under no circumstances do you let them get to the transport room."  
"Sir!" he said and also turned and ran back through the brush. The third clone looked at him and stayed silent. He had a red stripe around his arm.  
"Take your team and kill Dels." The clone slowly nodded and turned. "Unit three, kill him yourself. That way I know it will get done." The clone again nodded and simply walked away.  
The man climbed back into the dropship and signaled the pilot to take off. The dropship raised into the sky and disappeared into the sun.

Several dropships roared over the city and dropped clone paratroops into the streets. The behemoth was still tromping around and the ships were dropping troops with rocket launchers so they would at least stand a chance.  
Clouds were moving in and covering the sun making the city seem more like a ghost town than a thriving city. Most of the citizens had either fled or been killed by the aliens and clones. The royal guards had been doing well against the aliens until the clones arrived and massacred them all.   
Clone Unit 127 sat in the dropship and waited for it to land. He didn't really think at all. His orders were his orders and it was his duty to follow them.  
"Hostiles at seven!" yelled one of the gunners. The dropship turned and decelerated.  
"Take them out!" The dropship landed and 127 jumped out with the rest of the troops in the dropship. Several Vortigaunts turned and shot blasts of electricity at them. Three cloned went down and the rest opened fire with their powerful rifles. The Vortugaunts hit the ground and died.  
A loud hollow roaring came overhead and 127 looked up to see what it was. A thick laser left a blue and orange flier and the clone dropship exploded, throwing many clones to the ground and engulfing several others in the fire.  
Out of the twenty to start with, only eleven were left. Another hollow roar and four alien grunts dropped from the weird ship and landed on the ground. They immediately opened fire with their wasp guns and the clones fired back. another clone dropship flew overhead and fired a heavy chain gun into the grunts. They were ripped apart by the bullets and the ship landed on the ground. The clones got in and the ship took off.  
The alien dropships and fighters flew over the city now and engaged the clone ships for air superiority. The dropship flew over several buildings and as 127 looked out the window he saw clones and aliens battling in the streets below. His allies were falling left and right and taking just as many aliens with them. Explosions from lasers and missiles were bringing down buildings. The building collapsed into the street crushing the fighting sides.   
"Let's go!" said a commander. He led three para-troops to the back and they bailed out into the war torn city. Two more clones got up and jumped out. 127 looked out and watched their parachutes deploy. The ship started to descend and finally came to a hover. Twenty more clones got in and the ship took off again. It flew over the buildings and sharply turned, just avoiding one of the alien lasers.  
The ship fired missiles which impacted into the weird looking ship. It exploded sending alien grunts and vortigaunts falling to their deaths. Several more clone fighters surrounded the dropship and engaged another alien dropship as soon as it appeared. The dropship landed in front of the palace grounds and the clones got out. It lifted off again fired more missiles in the direction of some alien fighters. The clones set explosives on the gate lock and blew it open. Five more dropships landed inside the grounds and let out more troops. Gunfire started immediately as the clones smashed their way into the palace interrupting a battle between aliens and royal guards. The clones efficiently cleared the main chamber without losing a single soldier.  
They kept entering the palace in an endless stream and spreading out into other rooms of the palace killing royal guards and aliens alike.  
127 waited outside the gates with about fifty other clones. They were patrolling and making sure that aliens wouldn't sneak up behind the soldiers in the palace. An alien dropship roared overhead and dropped several grunts and vortigaunts into the street before being blown up by two clone fighters. The troops fired and the grunts and vortigaunts fired back. The street erupted with gunfire and bugs from the grunt guns.  
127 turned and fired into a pack of head crabs. They splattered all over the gravel and several more took their place. Two para-troops opened fire from the air and killed most of them. Green electricity arced through the air at them and they fired at the assaulting aliens. Another alien dropship flew overhead and dropped yet more Xen troops into the street.  
The clones were slowly dying from the armored grunts. Three clones fired at one grunt and finally took it down. A second one fired wasps which impacted into a commander killing him. A volley of automatic gunfire left the line of clones and tore through vortigaunts and three grunts. Grenades also flew and vaporized a couple of grunts.  
Yet another dropship flew overhead and let only one vortigaunt out before it was destroyed by a volley of missiles from a dropship. The clones easily dispatched it and the dropship dropped a bomb into the crowd of aliens killing them all. The street went quiet for a moment and the clones took the moment to reload and let another load of troops out of a dropship.  
"Unit 127, join commander 329 in the palace." said a voice over the radio. Gunfire made it hard to understand . 127 climbed into the dropship which lifted off and landed him close to the main door, which would have taken much more time if he'd run across the grounds. He got out and sprinted into the palace. A commander pointed him to a door and he ran into it.  
Two clones were setting explosives near a wall. They rushed back and triggered them. The wall exploded and showered the clones with rubble. A team moved in and quickly walked down the staircase beyond. The commander pointed toward the opening and 127 rushed into it followed by twenty more clones. The stair case lead down and finally came to a spot at what was a door and now was a jagged piece of metal on the ground.  
Already, clone bodies were scattered on the ground and destroyed chain guns were smoking in the ceiling. Zombies, caused by head crabs, were wandering around and some looked to be security guards. 127 opened fire and the rest of the clones followed. The fighting for this small facility had only just begun.


	8. Lucifer Installation 2

Chapter 8- Lucifer Installation 2

"Oh shit." muttered Lorenz peeking around the corner.  
"What?" whispered Hanz. A clone dropship flew overhead and Lorenz watched as it let off even more clones.  
"There's at least sixty guys guarding the street." said Lorenz. How are we going to get into the palace then?" asked Adrian.  
"Two options." said Lorenz. "We can be kamikaze morons and rush them,"  
"Kel, don't be a smart ass." said Hanz.  
"Or, we can jack a dropship and hope we survive crashing it into the palace."  
"Lorenz!"  
"No, that might work." said Adrian thoughtfully.  
"Are you crazy?" asked Hanz turning to him.  
"No, stealing a dropship-" he was cut off by a squeaking sound. Hanz and Lorenz turned and saw a pack of green and tan creatures. They had a large red eye in the front and three legs. The creatures were simply staring at them as a dog would. Adrian raised his P90 and aimed. Hanz, who was standing much closer to them, put his hand up signaling him not to shoot.  
The creatures kept staring at them as if wanting food. A clone came around the corner and spotted the soldiers. Hanz grabbed him and snapped his neck. The violence seemed to scare the creatures and they started humming. Adrian opened fire at the animals The first one died but the second one let off a weird energy blast that knocked Adrian and Hanz off their feet. Lorenz killed the other two before they could let it go again. Adrian got up and grabbed Hanz. John helped him and they dragged Hanz into an alley just as a squad of clones came around the corner and saw the bodies. Their guns swept the area and into the alley. John dragged Hanz around another corner and Adrian froze as the clones looked in. They saw him.  
"Drop your weapon and get on the ground." said one of them. The two clones were joined by the other four. The first one moved closer. "Drop your weapon and get on the ground." he repeated. An alien dropship flew over head and gunfire erupted in the street. The clones turned their heads in the direction of the noise and Adrian took the distraction to bring up his weapon. He fired into the first clone and the second and third followed suit. The fourth one tried to fire back but was too slow and the P90 bullets tore through him and into his partner. The last one tried to move but the alley was too tight and he caught a bullet in his head.  
Hanz tried to get up but couldn't.  
"My legs. Little bastards broke my legs." he said, grimacing from the pain. "I can't walk." Two more clones entered the alley and Hanz shot them with his Desert Eagle. "Go. I'll keep them off your ass." Another clone appeared but didn't enter the alley. They fired at some unseen enemy. "GO!" he yelled. Adrian looked at Hanz and saluted.  
"I'll miss you sir."  
"Adrian,-" he shot the clone as he tried to turn and enter the alley. "You need to go." he said calmly and ripped his tags off and handed them to Shephard. "Do what you need to. You live through this, that's an order." He pushed Adrian away and fired again down the alley. Adrian took one last look and turned away knowing it would be the last time he would see his commander and friend. John and Lorenz were waiting for him at the end.  
The ground shook and Hanz wondered what it was. Three clones stopped at the entrance and started shooting at something. A large foot came down on one of them and the other two were vaporized by a large flame.  
A giant in bluish armor and a red eye looked into the alley and spotted Hanz. It smashed through the brick and came toward him. He fired at it and pulled the pins on two of his grenades. He doubted two grenades would kill the thing but at least it had a chance.  
"See ya, you bastard." The alien came closer and the grenades exploded and caught the alien's underside. It stopped dead in it's tracks and self-destructed taking half of the two buildings that made up the alley with it.

Adrian heard the explosion and knew Hanz had taken more than a few things with him. He led Lorenz and John thought the back alley away from the perusing clones. A weird looking creature teleported just in front of them. It looked like a dinosaur with red tentacles on his mouth. It screeched and Adrian fired right into its mouth, not taking any chance.  
They stepped over it and kept on their course through the complex turns of the area between the buildings. A clone dropship rose over the buildings and followed the alley until it saw them. It's chain guns roared and a steady stream of bullets followed them until they disappeared under a bridge. The dropship stopped firing and flew around to the other side and waited for them.  
"John, tell me how to start the transporter." said Adrian calmly. "We can't take the chance that you'll be killed and we'll be stranded here." John looked at him.  
"It's very simple, all you have to do is get to the control room and charge it up. Hit the red button and you'll have about thirty seconds before it becomes unstable."  
"How do you charge it?"  
"There is a lever, you just pump it three times until it clicks."  
"Okay, let's just hope you can be the one to do it." John nodded. The dropship opened fire, trying to scare them out. Adrian knew they were safe until the ground troops arrived. Lorenz saw a crack in the wall behind him and smashed it in.  
"It's a tunnel." he said. Adrian went in first and Lorenz and John followed. They followed the tunnel for about fifteen minutes until it finally came to a dead end. Explosions from above were making dirt fall from the ceiling.  
"Great." said Lorenz in the darkness. Adrian switched on his flashlight and swept the beam around. Roots were hanging from the ceiling and mud made up the dead end in front of them.  
"I know where we are." said John. He walked to the wall and started pulling chunks of mud from it revealing a thick metal door beyond. "Welcome to the Lucifer Installation 2." said John stepping back. He turned and started brushing off a red handle and turned it. The door slid open with a hiss and the three stepped in. The door slid shut and a second one opened.  
They walked through it and found themselves standing on a catwalk that extended around the room. It was at least a ten foot drop to the floor. Many of the dinosaur creatures and even more of the green shocker creatures entered the room through a door and ran across the floor. They stopped at a door and three blue armored aliens with weird looking guns on their arms marched into the room.  
The soldiers crouched down to avoid being seen. The door opened and nine clones opened fire. Lightning bolts, small bugs, and bullets crossed paths. Troops on each side fell to the ground and finally the bullets stopped. The last two aliens alive, the big blue armored ones, marched through the door.  
"Which way to the transport room?" asked Adrian.  
"We're going to need to get to level ten."


	9. The End of the Lucifer Project

Chapter 9- The End of the Lucifer Project

Colonel Jenkens stood behind Max in the control room waiting for word that the generator was fixed. Junes had died in sick bay and Jenkens knew Walder, Hanz, and Grant would not survive what ever was happening over there. Two people had died in the dematerialization process when the generator gave out.  
He quickly did the math in his head. He'd sent four teams today, and not one of them had returned. That equaled sixteen people total. He shook his head at the horrible death rate for today. Never in the five years the Lucifer Project had been operating, had that many people died in one day.  
"Colonel, the generator is fixed, you can restart the teleporter anytime." said the mechanic over the intercom.  
"Thank you Lieutenant." replied Jenkens. It had been an hour and a half since it had blown out and Jenkens seriously doubted anyone over there was still alive. "Restart the system." he ordered Janis.  
"Yes sir." she replied. Janis tapped a couple of buttons on the control panel and executed the command. The lights dimmed in the transporter room and the system rebooted. "System rebooted sir."  
"Time for body recovery." muttered Jenkens. "Call team one down here." Max turned and triggered the base intercom.  
"Lucifer team one, please report to the transportation room."   
"Warm the system up, get it ready." Janis turned in her chair and again tapped a couple of buttons. The machine hummed and the purple beam connected and team one marched in. The machine shuttered and shut off.  
"Sir, I'm getting a strange signal. It looks like the facility is trying to open a portal."  
"Maybe its an escape effort." The machine hummed again and a portal materialized below the pyramid. Three soldiers stepped onto the platform. One of them raised their gun and shot one of the team one soldiers. The others fired back and hit two of the invaders. More men in black came through and took down the last of the soldiers in the transport room.  
"Security to transport room! Security to transport room!" screamed Janis into the intercom. The soldiers saw the room and raised their guns toward it. Jenkens and Max dove to the ground just as bullets shattered the glass and tore Janis apart. Her riddled body thumped to the ground and a pool of blood formed around her.  
An alarm sounded through out the complex and Jenkens drew his pistol. He got up and fired off a few rounds at the soldiers. One of them went down and more teleported in. They opened fire and Jenkens ducked back down. Bullets pounded into the ceiling and back wall. Max opened a small compartment and pulled out an M16. He got up and was mowed down by the soldiers. Jenkens looked at the few monitors that were still working. The heavy door opened and the soldiers moved into the hall and met the security teams. They exchanged fire and three clones slipped away in the chaos. They ran down a narrow hallway and encountered some scientists. The clones shot them and kept on moving toward their objective.  
Clone unit 297 was among the small group that was moving through the base. They were to set up a bomb that would detonate and kill all of the people that were in this complex and effectively end the human's interference in other parts of the galaxy.  
A lone security guard appeared out of no where and tackled 298. 299 fired at him and killed the guard and 298. 297 picked up the bag with the bomb in it and slung it over his shoulder. A group of scientists ran around the corner and 299 opened fire into them. The scientists tried to run but the bullets ripped through them and spattered gore all over the wall and floor.  
Gunfire erupted down the hall as security guards and clones met each other. 297 and 299 kicked a metal door in and found them selves in a wide hallway. Clones and guards were shooting at each other from opposite ends. A bullet hit 299 in thee middle of his head and he slumped to the ground. 297 raised his gun and fired back, hitting the guard in the chest. He fell back and hit the wall. 297 moved behind a small pillar for cover. He looked around and fired at another human as he tried to load his gun. The guard fell, and a grenade left his hand.  
It rolled toward the clones that were closest to the humans and detonated before they could kick it away. One of them was thrown against the wall and the other turned into a bloody mess of gore. All of the clones turned and fired at the same time and caught the humans unaware. Most of them were killed and the others tried to fall back when they saw that their friends were dead. The clones moved out from behind their cover and took the last of the resistance down.  
297 reloaded and ran across the hall. He entered a door and found himself in a room with narrow metal doors. Names were printed on the top. He swept his gun around the room and made sure no one was there. One door in particular caught his eye. The name on top read "Shephard" in the humans dialect. He recognized the name as belonging to the interloper that was killing his comrades on the other planet.  
It seemed that no one could kill him, almost as if he was immortal. The only reason 297 didn't believe it was because he was a clone and knew that there was no such thing as an immortal. He merely followed orders, as did his comrades on the planet and this "Shephard" was killing them.  
He decided that the bomb could wait and he ripped the narrow door open. There was nothing special in it. Merely a photograph of four men. He recognized three of them as the men who were killing his comrades. One of them, he was proud to recognize as dead. The other two were still alive and probably raising hell for the operation on the planet.  
297 reached up and grabbed it from the door. He pocketed it and moved on. There was another door at the end of the room and he opened it. Two guars and a scientist were on the other side. 297 raised his gun and fired into one of the guards before he could react. The other one swung his gun and 297 caught it. The guard brought his leg up and kicked 297 away. He dropped his gun and the guards' gun. They both slid across the floor. He got to his feet and blocked a punch from the guard and threw one of his own.  
The guard stumbled back and recovered. He tripped 297 and drew his pistol. 297 jumped to his feet and grabbed the pistol. It went off, sending a bullet into the ceiling. 297 swung it around and it went off again except this time sending a bullet through the scientist's chest. He slumped over and relaxed. 297 brought his knee up and slammed it into the guard's stomach and ripped the gun away. He brought it around and fired it into the guards chest. The bullet smashed into his chest and 297 fired again into his head. He turned, tossed the pistol away, and picked up his gun from the floor. He opened the door and realized he was in the right place. It was a small closet. He kneeled down and opened the bag. He tapped a few buttons and set the bomb for remote detonate. He turned and ran back through the room with the narrow doors. The clones were now trying to fight their way through the door at the end of the large hallway.  
297 clicked his wrist radio and brought it to his face.  
"Sir, the bomb is planted."  
"Good work 297." came a slithery voice over the radio. The radio clicked and the voice echoed over all of the clones radios. "All units. Return to the transport room for evac. Five minutes." The man drew his S's out which made him sound like a snake. 297 ran back down the hall and waited for several more clones to get onto the elevator before he activated it. The elevator rose descended down to the transport room and they entered the giant room. They passed the bodies of the first humans and waited for a portal to form in front of the primitive machine the humans used. The mission was complete. No more humans would be interfering with their affairs.  
Another thought occurred to 297. Perhaps they would be doing the humans a favor. If they were able to stop them from teleporting to other planets, maybe they would stop them from encountering the Nihilanth, or even the Combine for that matter. The portal opened and the clones returned to the war torn planet to combat the Xenian presence and keep it for the commander.

Jenkens stepped out from behind his cover along with the rest of the surviving guards. The enemy had just left, they hadn't accomplished anything. He followed a sergeant into the locker room and saw that one of the lockers was ripped open. The sergeant swept the room and Jenkens saw three bodies on the floor at the end of the room. He rushed over to them recognizing the scientist as Dr. Glenshaw.  
He was dead, a shot from a Desert Eagle had hit him in the chest. He heard a slight beeping behind the door to the janitors closet and opened it. He recognized what it was at once. Three. He smiled and exhaled. Two. Jenkens sat down in front of it. One.

An experimental plane taxied onto the runway of Area 51 and was just about to take off when The east side of the base erupted in a giant fireball. Dirt and debris was flung into the air and a small mushroom cloud rose into the air.  
Alarms blared and people started running around. Fire crews were getting ready and hazmat teams were trying to get into their suits. Two pilots entered a chopper and started the engines. Within ten minutes six helicopters were circling the site and dumping water on the flaming wreckage of what was once the Lucifer Complex of Area 51.


	10. Getting the Power Back

Chapter 10- Getting the Power Back

"Here we are." said John, stopping at a heavy metal door. "This is the teleportation room. It's not quite as nice as the one on Earth, but it will do." John typed in a code on a small number pad and the door slid open.  
The room beyond was dramatically smaller and the machine was the same size. It took up more than half of the room. John ran across the room and climbed a latter up to a catwalk. Adrian and Lorenz looked around the room to make sure it was clear.  
John opened the door to the control room and entered it. They heard him typing for a minute and he looked out the small window.  
"We have a problem. The clones must have shut the power off. Someone needs to go restart the generator." he said over the rooms loudspeaker.  
"I'll do it." said Adrian, pulling the hammer on his P90 back. "Kelly, I want you to go to the elevator and wait for me. Make sure no clones get past that point." Lorenz nodded his head.  
"Lieutenant, I will need to guide you through." said John climbing down the latter. "There is a security room just down the hall. From there I can guide you." Adrian turned and walked toward the door with Lorenz close behind him.  
John stopped at a door and swiped his card. The door opened and revealed a room with several monitors. "I will talk to you over your radio. Is it on?"   
"Yes." replied Shephard. The doors to the elevator slid open and Adrian rushed out of it. He ducked behind a wall right as three clones walked around and checked the elevator.   
"First, your going to take hallway B4. It's just behind you." said John into his ear from the radio. Adrian looked around the corner and quietly slipped the silencer onto his P90. "Be careful, don't leave their bodies where others will find them." Adrian noticed a camera on the ceiling just above the clones.  
He came around the corner and fired. The silenced rounds tore into the clones. They slumped to the ground and blood oozed from their wounds. Adrian stepped over them and followed the hall.  
"Take care of their bodies sir." Adrian ignored him and came to the end of the long corridor. It sounded like there was a fight going on down to hall to the right. "Turn right. Go until you get to the catwalk above the lake."  
"Figures." Adrian muttered to himself. He leveled his gun and slowly moved down the hall. The gunfire lessened and stopped by the time he arrived. Clone and alien bodies were strew across the floor. A couple of the dog-like creatures and one of the large acid spitting lizards trotted in and attacked the smaller ones. They charged up their attacks and tried to fend off the big one. It quickly dispatched them and started munching on the bodies.  
Adrian turned and kept walking before the alien saw him. He eventually came to a catwalk that extended across a small bay that was under the palace. At the opening, Adrian could see the sunlight bouncing off the water. He remembered that it had been dark before and looked at his watch.  
The face was covered in dust and blood. Adrian wiped it off and pressed the button for the backlight. "Jesus." he said to himself. It was 2300 hours. Sixteen hours had passed since they stepped out of the portal to where he was standing now. Sixteen hours of hell. "I'm here." he said, clicking his radio.  
"Okay, be careful, there don't seem to be lights down there and I can't see you with the cameras. Go across the catwalk and find a way through the door at the end." Adrian walked toward the end of the catwalk and just as John said, he stopped at a heavy steel door. "It's locked and I can't open it from here." Adrian looked around and spotted a vent in the ceiling. It looked big enough for him to fit though.  
Adrian reached up and smashed the vent in with the butt of his gun. It collapsed inward and he pulled it out and tossed it onto the ground. He shouldered his gun, grabbed the end of the vent and pulled himself up. It was a narrow fit but he could do it. He came to the end of the vent and heard a familiar distorted voice.  
"This is unit 297, area is secure. No sign of Shephard or Lorenz." said the clone. He walked across the room and went through a door. Adrian waited and smashed his way through the vent. He tumbled out of the hole and fell on the floor. The clone heard him and turned around. Adrian got to his feet and was met with the clone's gun in his face. "Drop your weapon." he ordered.   
Adrian slowly stood up straight. He let the strap of the P90 slip off his shoulder and drop to the floor. "Put your hands on your head." Adrian slowly rose his hands and slapped the gun away surprising the clone. He spun and landed a powerful kick on the side of the clones head. He fell to the ground and Adrian tried to bring his palm down on his face but the clone moved and he hit the floor. The clone kicked Adrian in the side and sent him flying off and into a wall. Adrian got to his feet and the clone did the same.  
They both looked at each other, unarmed and wanting to kill the other. The clone started first and they both ran at each other. The clone threw at punch and Adrian blocked it. He brought his fist up and smashed the clone in the stomach. He keeled over and rammed Adrian. He slammed Adrian into the wall and Adrian reacted by kneeing the clone in the face.  
He stood up and threw another punch which Adrian blocked and threw one of his own. The clone blocked it and Adrian head-butted him. The clone staggered back and Adrian took the chance. He lunged at the clone and grabbed his head. He tried to struggle free but Adrian snapped his neck with a sickening crack.  
The clone's body went limp and Adrian let him go. He got up and retrieved his P90. He spotted a small white piece of paper in the clones pocket. He bent down to pick it up and realized it was his picture of Hanz, Lorenz, Fine, and him. He looked down at the clone's body and kicked it.  
"You bastard." he muttered. He clicked the radio. "Where now, John?" said Adrian pocketing the picture.  
"Where- oh, I see you. Go through the door to your right." Adrian did as he was told and found himself in a small room with a control panel. "Now, you need to restart the system and un-dam the lake."  
"How do I do that?"  
"Do you know how to use a computer?"  
"Yes."  
"Just look for the system restart program and activate it. It should do everything automatically." Adrian moved the mouse and let the computer wake up from his sleep. He clicked various things and hit the enter button. The lights dimmed and brightened again. He heard the water from outside start to rush and flow through the dam. "Good work. Go across the dam and start the generator. Adrian returned to the room where he had killed the clone and opened the door. The hatch was on this side of the door so it made it easier than climbing through the vent.  
He could see better now that the lights where on. The dam was about six feet wide with a short rail. It was the only thing that stood between the person walking across and the rushing water. Adrian walked across it and entered a small room with a large generator.  
He reached up and pulled the string on the light bulb which lit the room.  
"There is a red handle on the side, pump it up four times and then press the blue button." Adrian pumped the lever and pressed the button. "Very good. That should get the machine working. Get back here and we are home free."  
Adrian opened the door and walked out onto the dam. He wasn't prepared for what was waiting for him. Between him and the end of the dam were three men. Dels, Jaques, and Martin.


	11. Shephard and Dels

Chapter 11- Shephard and Dels

"Hello Shephard." said Dels with a smirk. The three soldiers raised their guns and pointed them at him. "I hear you killed one of my men."  
"No. That was Lorenz. But I'd be happy to pay you the same favor." Dels looked at him and stopped smiling.  
"You know Shephard, you've become somewhat of a menace and become somewhat of a legend to the clones and Xenians." Adrian inched closer as Dels was speaking.  
"Xenians?" he repeated.  
"Oh, that's right, you don't know. The Xenians are these aliens that have been such a pain in the ass for the clones."  
"And, how exactly do you know this?" Dels' smile returned.  
"I made a deal with the man that controls the clones."  
"Back up." blurted Martin finally realizing that Adrian was closer to them. He knew he didn't have a choice but to fight.  
"Shephard, don't do anything stupid." whispered John into his ear.  
"What kind of deal?" asked Adrian.  
"One that would keep my men alive." Adrian moved his arm up and hit Martin's gun away and simultaneously kicked Jaques in the chest. He stumbled back and Adrian ripped Martin's gun away and tossed it over the railing into the raging water. He then grabbed Jaques' arm and swung him around into Dels and Martin sending him over the edge knowing that he would be ripped apart by the water and concrete.  
Jaques tried to turn and hit him but Adrian ducked and he stumbled over the rail and grabbed it just in time to save himself from falling into the water. Dels spun and kicked Adrian in the face sending him sprawling to the floor. Dels took two strides and brought his boot down toward Adrian's face. He moved his head and heard the clang of the heavy boot on the metal.  
Adrian brought his foot up and kicked Dels in the back. He fell foreword and Adrian got to his feet and punched Jaques in the face just as he climbed over the railing. Jaques fell over and off the catwalk. He screamed and disappeared beneath the water.  
Dels got to his feet and faced Adrian. "Good going Shephard. You just killed my men. Now you are going to die." Adrian raised his arms in a combat stance.  
"Why are you doing this Dels? You were a good example for everyone." said Adrian.  
"Do you know why we tried to kill the king? He was the head doctor for this installation." said Dels harshly. "Who are we to screw around with other cultures. Now look what we did. We completely destroyed this race all because the Xenians sensed the portals."   
"No, we didn't cause this, the clones did."  
"Don't be so nieve Adrian." hissed Dels. "The clones are here as a clean-up team. They are here to stop the crab heads from taking over the Sa'ni and to stop the Xenians from expanding, continuing their domination of the galaxy. There are bigger powers at work here than just you and me."  
"You still haven't answered my question."  
"I made this deal because it is only a matter of time before the Xenians discover Earth. When they do, it's all over for the human race. I would rather be alive after it happens." Adrian couldn't believe what he was hearing. Dels would rather abandon his own species than fight for survival.  
"You are a coward Dels." That statement set him off and Dels charged at Adrian. He side stepped and hit Dels. He turned and kicked at Adrian who blocked it and also blocked a punch Dels threw at the same time.   
Dels kept moving toward Adrian and trying to hit him but with no avail. Shephard kept backing up and blocking the blows Dels was trying to land on him. He finally landed a punch on Adrian's vest sending him staggering back.  
"Your better than I expected." said Dels wiping a bit of blood from his lip. "How old are you Shephard?"  
"Twenty-one."  
"You've had previous training?"  
"I have. Why do you want to know?" said Adrian suspiciously.  
"Well, now I can kill you knowing you at least had a chance." Dels took a step toward him and suddenly drew his knife and swung at Adrian. He stepped back to avoid it and Dels swung it back and sliced his arm. Adrian yelled and grabbed the wound, avoiding another swing. He stepped on Dels' hand and kicked the knife out of it.  
He let go of his bloody arm and slammed his forearm down on the back of Dels' neck. He slipped and thumped to the floor. Adrian felt the warm blood leak down his arm and stain his shirt. Dels rolled over and kicked Adrian in the chest. He stumbled back and Dels got up. He swung his fist and hit Adrian in the face sending him over the edge. He grabbed the rail and hung on. Dels walked over and stood over him.   
"You are in the same position Jaques was. Now you can suffer the same fate." Dels said with a grin. Adrian slipped off the rail and grabbed the edge of the catwalk. He saw a metal brace not three feet from him and saw his chance of survival. "You know Shephard, I really can't believe that you thought you could win against me. I was killing things when you were in diapers." he continued. "You look like you can hang on for a while. Let's talk before I kill you."  
"Oh goody. You have to taunt me before I die." Dels laughed.  
"Yes, I am very good at this. I've done this more times than you know." He kneeled down and looked at Adrian. "You know, I can't remember what it's like to be a civilian. I went into the Army when I was just out of high school, like you." Adrian inched over and grabbed one of the vertical rail support bars. He relaxed a little bit knowing he could hold on better. "Your only twenty-one. It's a pity, so young to die. Then again, so young to kill also. You know you killed my men. That means you are going to go to hell."  
"I've killed a lot more things than just your men in the time I've been here. But it was in self defense and I won't go to hell for self defense." Dels laughed again.  
"Yes you will, and sooner than you think." Adrian looked up at Dels.  
"Go... to... HELL!" he yelled and let go. Everything seemed to go to slow motion as Dels tried to kick him and missed. Adrian grabbed at the support bar under the catwalk and closed his fingers around it. He felt the sudden jerk as he caught the bar and swung under the metal path. He studied himself and froze knowing Dels was looking over trying to see him in the water.  
Adrian swung his legs up and crossed them over the bar and started pulling his body toward the top. He grabbed the edge and pulled himself under the rail and looked at Dels walking to the end of the walk.  
Adrian got up and tackled Dels who was surprised. Adrian kicked him in the ribs and picked him up by the nylon handles on his vest and punched him. Dels fell over and again Adrian picked him up and hit him.  
"You bad guys are all the same. If you would just take action, you would win."  
"Same for you." said Dels. He head-butted Adrian and landed a punch in his face. Adrian kicked him back and sent him through the rail. Dels grabbed the broken metal and held on. Adrian got up and walked over. "I can't believe it." Those were his last words before the bar snapped and sent him plummeting from the catwalk. He landed on a broken jagged piece of metal and blood spurted out as it shoved through him. Adrian looked away, not wanting to see him die.  
Dels looked up and saw Adrian turn away and walk across the catwalk and disappear through the door. He vision blurred and his muscles relaxed.


	12. It's A Trap

Chapter 12- It's a Trap

Adrian retrieved his P90 and walked back to the door. He opened it and raised his gun. Three clones were on the other side and they turned around. He opened fire and the clones were dead before they could even raise their guns.  
"Oh! Thank god!" said John into his ear. "You lived." Adrian took off the silencer and tossed it aside.  
"You expect anything less?" he asked as he pulled the magazine out and replaced it with a fresh one. "What are the clones doing?"  
"I don't know. They seem to be leaving, but I'm not sure."  
"Can I still take the elevator down there?"  
"Yes. When you got the power back, it opened a blast door that is a short cut to the elevator. Just take the hall way directly to the left of the door in front of you." Adrian walked to it and opened it. He leveled his gun and went through.  
There were no clones and he turned down the hall. It led on for a while and finally came to and end. Three more clones were guarding a narrow door and sure enough, John told him he needed to go through it.  
Adrian ran around the corner and kicked the closest clone's gun away and added a spin kick to the side of his head. The enemy fell down and Adrian grabbed one of the other's gun and slammed it into it's partner's stomach. Adrian then brought an upper-cut with the gun into the clone's face which sent him flying to the floor. He raised his P90 and fired into the trapped clone's chest. He slumped to the ground and a pool of blood formed around him.  
Adrian opened the door and found himself in a wide room with several clones guarding the entrance to the elevator. They spotted him and opened fire. Shephard dove behind a box followed by bullets.  
He primed a grenade and tossed it over the box. He heard it detonate.  
"Good one, you got three of 'em." said John. "Shoot now." Adrian looked over the box and fired at a clone that was recovering from the explosion. He turned and fired at another one that was trying to get behind cover. "Two more to go Adrian." He got out from his cover and kept his gun trained around the room. One of the clones stood up and Adrian mowed him down. He worked his way across the room never taking his eyes off the part of the room that the clone might be. He stepped onto the elevator and hit the button.  
"Where is he?"  
"Behind the box to the right. He's just sitting there." The elevator doors closed with a clang and the elevator descended. It stopped and the door opened for Lorenz to greet him.  
"You made it." he said. John exited the security room.  
"We've got trouble." he said. A clone materialized right next to them and Lorenz smashed him in the face. A loud explosion rocked the floor and the ceiling collapsed on top of John. He yelled as the heavy rocks and rubble crushed him. A moment later there was silence.  
Adrian looked around and found Lorenz getting to his feet. They heard the elevator start to ascend.   
"It was a trap." muttered Lorenz. "No wonder it was so easy for you to get the power back on."  
"They wanted me to kill Dels and his people for them." said Adrian as he helped Lorenz to his feet. They heard the elevator stop.  
"Let's go." They turned and ran down the hallway that hadn't collapsed hoping that it would lead them around to the transport room.  
The clones came down the elevator and chased after the two fugitives. Lorenz turned and fired into the first few clones that were following them. They fell to the ground and tripped the other two.  
Adrian slammed into a heavy door and turned around. He fired into the on coming clones as Lorenz tried to override the number pad. Lorenz typed several combinations of numbers with Adrian firing in the background.  
He finally got fed up and fired three rounds into the small panel. Lorenz pulled the stray metal away and reached in. He felt around until he found a bundle of wires and pulled it out. Sparks flew from the broken key pad and the door slid open.  
"Let's go!" he yelled. Adrian shot one more clone before he followed Lorenz through the door and sprinted down the hall. They spotted a small elevator that looked like it was designed for cargo and knew it was their only chance of escape.  
They ran to the elevator and crammed themselves into it. Adrian pressed the button and it started to rise into the ceiling. The clones came around the corner and fired at them just as they disappeared into the roof.  
The small cargo transported rose and stopped. Adrian and Lorenz looked at each other and the floor started to move. They realized that they were on a belt and let it carry them through the ceiling. They occasionally passed air vents and saw squads of clones running through the halls looking for them.  
The belt suddenly dropped off and they landed in a small bin. Adrian climbed out and realized that they were on the other side of the collapsed ceiling. Lorenz looked behind them and saw the large metal door of the transport room.  
Loud booms told the soldiers that the clones were trying to clear the rubble. They were getting close to braking through. The two marines started their way down the hallway. The clones finally smashed through and began climbing into the hole.  
Adrian and Lorenz sprinted down the hallway from the clones. The could hear the foot steps drawing closer.  
They came to the large metal door and Lorenz typed in the code. Adrian turned and fired into the first of the enemies. The first one dropped and another one took it's place.  
"Let's go!" yelled Lorenz and pulled Adrian into the room. The clones started shooting back. Lorenz hit the button and the door slid shut. Adrian turned around and. Kelly was looking at his vest. A bullet had torn through the thick PCV and into his chest.  
He looked up at Adrian, smiled, and collapsed. Adrian rushed over to him and raised his head off the floor.  
Lorenz looked into Adrian's eyes. He seemed to be telling him to survive, and tell this horrific story. Adrian watched helplessly as his friends eyes closed for the last time. He bowed his head and grabbed his tags.  
"Goodbye." he whispered sadly. Adrian got up and made his way across the room and to a ladder. He started to climb it and heard the clones start pounding the door with explosives.  
Adrian stepped onto a ledge and ran to the control room. He looked for the right buttons and followed what John had told them to do. The machine started to hum and he knew he was doing something right. He heard the lightning crackle and the portal materialize. He followed the ledge back and slid down the latter.  
The clones opened up a hole in the door and started shooting through it. Bullets whizzed past Adrian's head and he turned and fired back. One of them went down and the second one tossed a grenade into the room which landed near Adrian.  
He knew he didn't have time to get to the portal before it closed. The launched himself from the ground and felt the grenade explode behind him and propel him into the could of light. Right before he hit it the portal turned from purple to gold and the world turned green.


	13. The F Man

Chapter 13- The F-Man

Adrian re-materialized about five feet above the ground. He fell face first and landed on a blue material. It occurred to him that he wasn't on Earth.  
The room he was in had a purple-blue glow to it. A large machine was suspended from the ceiling and the portal he had just come from was still active. He crawled from under in and stood up.  
Six clones appeared out of the shadows and surrounded Adrian. They raised their guns and aimed at him.  
"Drop it." said one of them. He realized he was still clutching his P90 and let go of it. The clone kicked it away. A door opened and a man in a dark blue suit entered the room. He waved his hand and the clones lowered their guns. The man walked over to Shephard and helped him up.  
"Hello lieutenant Shephard." said the man. "I must say, I am quite impressed with you. You managed to survive the Xenians and my clones. Very impressive. Even the combine don't like to tangle with them." The man paused. "Please excuse me, where are my manners? I am known as the F-Man. I was in charge of this planet until the Xenians invaded. Now it is being destroyed as we speak." Adrian stood there trying to figure out what was going on. "I am sure you have many questions, but I cannot give you answers to them."  
"Why?" asked Adrian.  
"Because it would no good. You won't remember it in the morning anyway. You see Mr. Shephard, because you survived, and only because you survived, I will spare your life. You will return to military life, but as a corporal."  
"No," started Adrian. Three clones grabbed him from behind and forced him to the ground.  
"You can think of it as a gift. Not remembering any of these horrible memories." Adrian struggled against the clones, but they wouldn't budge. "You see Mr. Shephard, I can't allow any witnesses to survive. You were the only one not eliminated. I am actually braking the rules by allowing you to live, but I respect you."  
"What about the Lucifer people? They will send someone to recover our bodies."  
"I'm afraid not. A very," he paused as if looking for the right words. "Unfortunate accident has befallen you comrades at Area 51. They were all killed." Adrian stopped fighting. "Do not worry, you won't feel a thing." The F-Man pulled a small visor out of his pocket and kneeled down. Adrian started fighting again. A clone entered the room and stood at attention behind the F-Man.  
"Sir, the G-Man wants to know the status of the Earthling."  
"Tell him the job is done."  
"Yes sir." The clone turned and disappeared again. The F-Man turned and slipped the visor over Adrian's eyes. He felt the F-Man probing his pockets for his friends tags. They found them and he felt them take them from his possession.  
"No! You can't do this!" yelled Adrian. The visor hummed and Adrian was surrounded by white light. He kept struggling until the visor flashed.  
He yelled as he watched in what seemed like slow motion as his memories were stripped away from him. His ride in the Osprey, the briefing, the first mission, the battle in the palace, Fine being killed, Hanz blowing himself up, his fight with Dels, Lorenz getting shot, the portal bringing him here, and his conversation with the F-Man.  
Adrian Shephard collapsed on the floor.

Corporal Adrian Shephard awoke to the sound of trumpets playing the reveille tune. He quickly got out of bed, eager to make a good impression on his new outfit commander.  
He had recently been transferred from regular Marine infantry to this outfit. He believed his new drill sergeant was named Barnes. He stood at attention next to his bed. A tall black man entered a moment later and immediately started yelling at the new recruits.  
"Rise and shine ladies. I am your senior drill instructor Dwight T. Barnes." he stated. "The first and last words I want to hear out of your stinkin' holes is sir. Have I made myself clear?"  
"Sir yes sir!" said the marines simultaneously.  
"My goal is simple. As of right now, you are all maggots. You will not speak until spoken to, you will not sleep unless told to do so! When I ask you to jump, you will reply with "how high". Do you get me!" His voice was deep and scratchy.  
"Sir yes sir!" repeated the marines. He paused and walked down the aisle toward Adrian and stood in front of him.  
"Whets your name dirt bag?" he asked. Adrian paused trying to think how to say it. "Sound off like you got a pair!"  
"Corporal Adrian Shephard, sir!"  
"Corporal Shephard huh. Looks more like corporal dog meat to me." he stopped and eyed Shephard. "Seems your name was mysteriously bumped to the top of the advanced training list. My suggestion to you is to get your ass down to the training center and report to drill instructor Sharpe ASAP. Now move it corporal!" Adrian grabbed his pants and walked out of the room feeling the stares of the other marines. "Where are you from soldier?" he heard Barnes yell at a marine.  
"Texas sir!"  
"Texas! Holy cow. You know what comes from Texas don't you?" That was the last thing Adrian heard before he entered the locker room to change. He did quickly and exited. A flight of stairs was off to his right and he went down them.  
He felt a lump in his pocket and reached in to see what it was. He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a picture of four men including himself. Adrian turned it over and read the names.  
"Hanz, Fine, Shephard, Lorenz." he recited. "Summer, 1997." He kept walking and exited the barracks and entered a court yard where a marine was doing pushups for a drill sergeant.  
None the less, the names on the picture seemed familiar, he didn't know why. He took one last look at the picture and merely re-pocketed it and dismissed the thought.  
He kept on his path to the training center not knowing it would eventually lead him to meet the Xenians again. He didn't know he would soon be staring hell in the face once again. A hell called Black Mesa.


End file.
